Job fairs are vital for our Indigenous community workforce engagement process. On the 25TH OF March, I had the pleasure of delivering a keynote address at the Maskwacis Virtual Job Fair. The virtual event was well-organized and professionally run, thanks to Maskwacis Employment and the Connect Partnership Group Ltd. As well, the fair made the most of the virtual meeting tools which have become common during the pandemic. There were over two hundred attendees in the audience who were able to ask questions through the moderators. As much as I would rather speak to a real audience, the hosts did a marvelous job of bringing their feedback to the discussion.
During my presentation, I spoke to both job searchers and job recruiters. Along the way, I emphasized how my career path was full of challenges and failures, and how those situations were overcome with learning and growth. I also expressed my belief in the audience’s ability to find their place in the world. Even more importantly, I asserted these Indigenous individuals are undiscovered gold for any industry; hospitality, professional, construction, energy, government, and many others.
For industry participants, my presentation included encouragement to do more, which translates into making changes regarding their view of Indigenous people’s needs, as well as the needs of their communities. Employers need to play an integral role in developing community capacity. Even though some future projects aren’t absolutely certain yet, developing capacity today will not be wasted.
I hope to do more of these events as an Indigenous role model, project leader and employer. I encourage employers and sponsors to step up and support these community capacity building efforts. It makes a huge difference for the communities and employers in developing a workforce which includes Indigenous people.
